How Can We Stay On-Purpose And Be Inspiring To Others?

Some time ago I had a post entitled: “Being on-Purpose is Inspiring to Others.” I talked about some inspiring people who are “on-Purpose.” I even linked the idea to another post “Transcending and SQ” but I didn’t say how!

Well, here’s how it works. In their book, SQ; Spiritual Quotient, The Ultimate Intelligence, Zohar and Marshall mention research on how the brain works. The left hemisphere (front left part) is used for solving problems, such as: “How do I get home from here?” The right hemisphere, (front right) deals with problems seeking the most friendly or humane way, they say: “inspired by vision and values.”

Yet, when a person contemplates questions of “ultimate importance,” such has a need to forgive ourselves, or others who seem unkind or even angry at something, we say in “good faith,” a little body in the centre of the brain, lights up the whole brain. So, SQ or spiritual considerations can be said to take in other factors than the mundane or pragmatic. One example is the inclusion of beauty in our considerations.

In my spiritual training, I learned that beauty was the expression of Truth. Truth is made up of design and control. For example, if we say a rose is beautiful, it appears to have a special design, under the control of chemicals of which it is composed. If we interfere with the chemical control by spraying acid on the rose, it quickly looses its beauty. This principle works with people, too.

If we can see beauty in a person, we are observing that the person is expressing their self according to their inherited design and control. However, the beautiful person also has some spiritual capacities to express. We could say they are spiritual beings, operating in a physical body. So their SQ gives them the capacity to inspire and be inspired. After all, the word “inspired” is defined as being filled with spirit. Nevertheless, this capacity shouldn’t be left to chance, because we humans are free to choose.

Hamlet said: “To be or not to be? That is the question.” I believe, as spiritual beings, we have a responsibility to inspire and be inspired.This is the ultimate question that turns on our whole brain!

I observe people frequently compromising their beauty because their expectations are not met. This gives me a chance to silently forgive people who are disappointed that others are not living up to their expectations. Personally, I find this strategy inspiring, especially if I can find a way to say something that is empathic, because that can lead the person to explore their situation and find a satisfactory solution for themselves.

I thought you might like to see again, Zohar and Marshall’s little test for SQ:“The indications of a highly developed SQ include:

the capacity to be flexible (actively and spontaneously adaptive)

a high degree of self-awareness (For me, this one is enhanced by Mindfulness Meditation)

a capacity to face and use suffering

a capacity to face and transcend pain

the quality of being inspired by vision and values

a reluctance to cause unnecessary harm

a tendency to see the connections between diverse things (being ‘holistic’)